脸色 (liǎn sè) — complexion, skin color; facial expression, look | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

脸色 covers two things: skin tone/complexion, and a person's emotional expression (e.g. 脸色不好 = 'looks upset'). For just skin color, 气色 is the health-focused synonym; for expression alone, 神情 is more neutral.

noun

complexionskin colorfacial expressionlook

Examples

脸色，。
Mā ma zuì jìn liǎn sè hěn hǎo, yīn wèi tā měi tiān duàn liàn.
Mom's complexion has been good lately because she exercises every day.
，脸色。
Tā shuō huà de shí hou, liǎn sè yì zhí méi yǒu biàn.
His expression didn't change at all while he was talking.
脸色。
Wǒ bù xiǎng kàn bié rén de liǎn sè zuò shì.
I don't want to act according to other people's expressions.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

“脸” (face) and “色” (color) together mean the look or color of a face.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 臉; 脸 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

⺼Written in full as肉ròubody part

Sound part声符shēngfú

僉

僉qiān臉liǎn

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 臉 combines ⺼ (肉, body part) with 僉 as a sound part; the simplified 脸 is a later abbreviation.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

爪爪zhuǎclaw; hand
卩卩jiékneeling person

色 pairs 爪 (a hand) with 卩 (a kneeling person), showing a hand pressing down on the kneeling person.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 5 Appearance

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